Children’s Rights and the Capability Approach: Challenges and Prospects

This volume addresses the conditions allowing the transformation of specific children’s rights into capabilities in settings as different as children’s parliaments, organized leisure activities, contexts of vulnerability, children in care. It addresses theoretical questions linked to children’s agency and reflexivity, education, the life cycle perspective, child participation, evolving capabilities and citizenship. The volume highlights important issues that have to be taken into account for the implementation of human rights and the development of peoples’ capabilities. The focus on children’s capabilities along a rights-based approach is an inspiring perspective that researchers and practitioners in the field of human rights would like to deepen.

Daniel Stoecklin is Associate Professor in Sociology, at the University Institute Kurt Bösch (IUKB), in Sion, Switzerland. His areas of research and teaching are the sociology of childhood, children’s rights, street children and participation. He is also a Scientific Collaborator, at the International Institute for the Rights of the Child. His has worked for several NGOs regarding projects in the field of children in difficult situations and he has been an Independent Expert for the Council of Europe regarding children’s participation.

Jean-Michel Bonvin is Professor in Sociology and Social Policies at the Haute école de travail social et de la santé – éésp – Vaud. His areas of expertise include social policies (notably in favor of disadvantaged youth), sociology of work and organizations and theories of justice and the capability approach. His research has been funded by the European Union (FP6 and FP7) and by the Swiss National Fund.